Xinglan Beiyi's face was extremely ugly.

But he did not back down.

He made a fist with his right hand, and a bead that looked a lot like a Dragon Ball appeared in his hand.

Golden specks flowed inside the bead, and it wasn't just ordinary gold.

It was an ancient, dark gold color, seemingly from mythology, flowing with regular characters.

Mingxi naturally saw it too.

"Starry Sky Pearl?!"

So the person in front of me really is Xinglan Beiyi himself.

So here's the question.

What exactly is Xinglan Beiyi all about?

Dissociative identity disorder? Mysterious invasion?

"Seeing this," Xinglan Beiyi said, her voice still sinister and cryptic, "do you still think I'm not Xinglan Beiyi? This is a companion item; no one but me can use it!"

What is little known is that, in addition to activating the 'fierce' aspect of his weak and ferocious physique, the Star Orb has another function.

This function can only be controlled by 'him' himself.

He clenched his fist.

The Starry Sky Pearl exploded.

It wasn't an explosion, but an unfolding.

It transformed into dark golden halos, centered on Xinglan Beiyi, spreading outwards from bottom to top and from the center outwards, like waves in a turbulent deep sea, instantly enveloping the entire battlefield.

Wherever the halo passed, the 'vacuum area' cleared by Jin Yuanbao's divine Yin Thunder was painted with new colors.

The circular lines stopped moving after passing through the bodies of the human and the pet.

"careful!"

When Mingxi sensed the danger as the golden halo rippled, she immediately warned Jin Yuanbao and the other nine.

However, the density of these halos and the speed of their spread both exceeded Mingxi's expectations, achieving almost 360° all-round coverage without any blind spots.

Not only did Mingxi not escape, but Jin Yuanbao and the others also fell victim to the attack.

She and the others, including the remaining three from Xinglan Beiyi's side, were all forced to freeze in place.

Oh, and those few who are barely surviving, whether you call them lucky or unlucky.

"Unable to move."

"Unable to use skills".

"Rule-based functionality: Absolute control!"

Guangguang kept spouting conclusions in Mingxi's mind that even a blind person could see.

Mingxi remained silent.

Her gaze was fixed firmly on Xinglan Beiyi.

At this moment, he was the only one unaffected by the golden halo.

In the stagnant space, as still as dead water, only his figure moved rapidly, as if a still life in a painting had come to life.

Not long after, he appeared next to Shen Guan.

He now held a jet-black longsword with blood-red patterns on its surface, the blade wreathed in black energy.

Guang Guang used up the last of his reward time and came to a conclusion: "Master, that's a divine artifact! It's 99% likely to have the effect of breaking through barriers and defenses!"

At this moment, Mingxi's breathing inevitably became rapid.

A god-tier weapon, also capable of breaking through towns and defenses, it's practically the mortal enemy of Shenguan!

Xinglan Beiyi was determined to get her hands on that mechanical core fragment.

Not only did they 'explode' his symbiotic Star Orb, which could switch his ferocious physique, but they also pulled out a divine artifact.

"break!"

Xinglan Beiyi had already raised her hand and swung it down, the blade falling towards Chen Guanzhong's body.

The goal, naturally, is to sink the pass.

He could obtain the mysterious mechanical fragment by breaking the ancient bell in front of him.

Mingxi's pupils contracted.

When divine artifacts clash, she's not so careless as to think that Shen Guan can definitely withstand it.

Moreover, Shen Guan has only recently been fully repaired, and Ming Xi cannot gamble on it, lest Shen Guan shatter into pieces again.

If that were to happen, she wasn't confident she could collect it all from around the world again.

To her, whether it was Chen Guan or Qian Shan Jing, they were similar to Jin Yuanbao and others; they were all living entities.

She didn't want to lose any of them.

So in the end, she did something that went against the wishes of her ancestors.

Just as Xinglan Beiyi's blade was about to strike Chen Guan's surface, she withdrew Chen Guan.

"bite--"

A crisp metallic tremor rang out—the sound of a blade grazing against the heavy gate.

Fortunately, Shen Guan was not seriously injured as a result. However, just as Guang Guang had predicted, the sword-shaped artifact did indeed have the ability to break through the barriers and defenses.

As the contract holder, Mingxi could feel that the sword energy had caused a crack in Shen Guan's 【Suppress】 and 【Guard】 abilities.

In other words, it was thanks to her timely withdrawal that the knife could have seriously injured Shen Guan.

After Mingxi retrieved Chen Guan, the mechanical core fragment was exposed again. Just as Xinglan Beiyi was about to reach out and grasp it, a powerful cutting force came crashing down.

Realizing the danger at this moment, Xinglan Beiyi had no ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) choice but to stop.

It's Little Silver Flower!

Jin Yuanbao and the others were trapped, but because Mingxi reminded them in time, Xiao Yinhua bought herself a few seconds.

Then he used the 【Ruyi】 to shrink himself to the size of a mosquito.

The golden halo emanating from the Starry Orb was indeed very dense, but not so dense that even a mosquito couldn't pass through safely.

However, while the golden halo is present, it cannot return to its normal size and can only move as a small mosquito.

This also affected its movement speed and even its attack power.

Only teleportation and spatial teleportation are possible.

"Grass!"

Xinglan Beiyi sneered and slashed forward with the black knife in her hand. Little Silver Flower was too small at the moment and was immediately affected by the blade. Like being hit by a super tornado, she was blown several meters away.

I'm not seriously injured, just a little airsick.

Xinglan Beiyi then took the opportunity to lean forward, trying again to seize the fragment whose light had dimmed considerably.

Mingxi didn't have time to think too much, or consider the gains and losses, or analyze the advantages and disadvantages.

In this situation, she directly released her mental energy, which bypassed the golden halos and'surrounded' the fragment.

"boom--!"

Mental energy is operating at full power.

She wanted to throw the mechanical core fragments into the Time Realm.

This is not a stopgap measure.

That was the only solution she could think of right now.

There was no other choice.

As for putting it into other spatial items, don't even think about it.

Don't ask her how she knew.

Of course, it's because she's tried it!

The only option is to try the Time Realm.

An invisible light enveloped the mechanical core fragments.

The fragments trembled violently.

As a product of a conscious and soulful alien civilization, it is not an inanimate object.

In theory, it does not conform to the inherent rules for entering the Time Realm.

So Mingxi was just trying it out.

The fragment sensed the pull of an unfamiliar force and felt an intense threat rushing straight to its head—well, it didn't have a head.

It began to struggle frantically, trying to break free from this force.

Meanwhile, Mingxi increased her mental energy output.

This is no longer a race against time, but an extreme tug-of-war within an infinitely still period of time.

Because Xinglan Beiyi's hand was already within reach!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

At this moment, Mingxi's mental space is like a large water pump running at high speed, 'transporting water' outwards at full power without regard for consequences or costs.

There is no other way.

This highly efficient output of mental energy caused her brain to throb with pain.

My head wasn't just buzzing, it was practically booming.

That day, no, those few hours, her mental space truly suffered terribly.

If it weren't for the feedback from the three evolved creatures, Jin Yuanbao, she would probably have perished by now.

Even so, her efforts may not necessarily yield good results.

She could feel that not only the mechanical core fragments were rejecting her, but even the Time Realm was resisting her!

Moreover, time was relentlessly pressing down on her, giving her hardly any chance.

In the blink of an eye, Xinglan Beiyi's hand was already reaching for the mechanical core fragment.

The instant his fingers touched the shard—

A sudden change occurred.

Within Mingxi's spiritual space, the bright and dazzling source of life and death, even more radiant than the sun, remained a calm and independent entity, even when Mingxi forcibly disintegrated the spiritual space.

At that moment, I suddenly awoke.

This time, it didn't supply Mingxi with any strange energy.

Instead, it released strange energy towards the mechanical nuclear fragments in the outside world.

It turns out that the origin of birth and death was finally disturbed by the abnormal changes in Mingxi's spiritual space.

Then they realized the presence of that alien mechanical life form.

As one of the origins of this world, its essence is closely connected with this world.

The very source of life and death naturally rejects other civilizations, because such beings could easily disrupt the world's balance and lead to its collapse.

So in fact, Mingxi, as a time traveler, is also an 'other' that it wants to eliminate.

The reason Mingxi was able to become an exception was that before encountering the Origin of Life and Death, she had already bound herself to the Realm of Time, an existence that allowed her to look at the laws of the entire universe as equals.

The reason why the source of life and death would enter Mingxi's body is that it might also be because it wanted to use its own methods to get rid of this alien species.

Even if it doesn't actually have self-awareness in essence.

When faced with mechanical life forms from a different civilization, it becomes even more direct and domineering.

Its primal instincts, rooted in the source of life and death, tell it that what exists before it must be obliterated.

Mingxi didn't even have time to react.

Then they saw the source of life and death release two beams of light, one black and one white, which wrapped around the fragments.

Black light represents "destruction," while white light represents "life."

Both are working together.

"Sizzle—"

Mingxi clearly heard a sharp sound, an indescribably piercing sound, carrying a despair from a distant time and space.

It was like the final lament of civilization.

The next instant, the mechanical core fragment vanished before Mingxi's eyes.

It wasn't destroyed, but rather absorbed into the Time Realm.

But Mingxi knew that it was no longer the same as before.

The presence of that sovereign consciousness dissipated.

In other words, it is no longer a living being, but an inanimate object, which is why it can be accepted by the realm of time.

"Master, Master, it's grown to the size of a soccer ball!"

"Master, Master, may I study it?"

Guangguang's excited voice came through.

Mingxi raised an eyebrow.

It seems that thing is really good at disguising itself; one could easily fall for its trick.

"It's possible, but be careful. Make sure there's nothing wrong with it before you do anything. Don't let it turn you into a mentally challenged butler."

"Don't worry, I'm very clever!"

"Alright, my clever light."

As long as this mechanical life form doesn't fall into the hands of the Descent, Mingxi doesn't care how it's ultimately disposed of.

It's fine to give it to Guangguang as a toy.

The sudden disappearance of the fragments left Xinglan Beiyi stunned.

How could something that was so close to us just disappear like that?

He wasn't unaware of the overwhelming spiritual power spreading outwards, and he also realized what Mingxi wanted to do. However, just like Mingxi, he had also tried to store the fragments into his spatial items.

Therefore, he knew perfectly well that the fragment could only be collected by hand.

But what about his certainty?

Why did the fragment disappear?

Before he could figure out the problem, the golden halo generated by the exploding Star Orb disappeared, and Mingxi and Jin Yuanbao regained their mobility.

Still feeling dizzy and disoriented, Little Silver Flower immediately returned to her real size and gave herself a powerful healing spell!

Then they rushed straight at the remaining three hooded figures.

Let's deal with the smaller fish first.

As for Xinglan Beiyi, it seems he's run into trouble.

Xinglan Beiyi is indeed experiencing problems; Xinglan Pearl has not been restored.

"puff!"

He suddenly started bleeding from all seven orifices.

His mouth became a fountain, gushing blood one mouthful after another.

His once robust and muscular body seemed to have lost all its energy and spirit.

His body became emaciated and withered at a visible rate.

He became that frail, thin boy in everyone's eyes.

His unique physique changed from ferocious to weak.

And with the disappearance of the Starry Sky Pearl, he will always look like this, and can only look like this.

This ability to control everything for just a few seconds exhausted all of Star Orb's power, and also caused the boy with the ferocious physique to lose this special physique forever.

From now on, and into the future, we can only survive in this world in a weak and vulnerable state.

Or perhaps, he never had a future to begin with.

"Who exactly are you? I'm certain that you're not the Xinglan Beiyi I know."

Mingxi looked at the man who seemed to have returned to his clean-cut youthful self, her eyes filled with an inescapable scrutiny.

Xinglan Beiyi raised her head and looked at her.

That look in his eyes was too complicated.

There was relief, resentment, a sense of relief, and a final, faint, almost invisible... envy.

Who is he envying?

It couldn't be her, could it?

“I am Xinglan Beiyi, the real Xinglan Beiyi.”

Mingxi frowned. "So... you have a split personality? The one I know is your alternate personality?"

Xinglan Beiyi nodded but then shook his head. Before confusing Mingxi, he smiled, as if he were Hannibal Lecter meeting his favorite food.

His laughter resembled that of a ghost struggling in damp darkness.

"He was forcibly inserted into my body by the Advent Organization!"

They wanted him to turn me into an immortal being!

But as you can see, he successfully parasitized me and replaced me.

But instead of giving me strength, he turned me into... a weakling, even less than a woman!

Therefore, the so-called "Xinglan Beiyi born with a pearl in its mouth" is completely fictional.

Where did the Starry Sky Pearl come from? Why can it become a medium for switching between weak and ferocious constitutions?

Mingxi had a sudden inspiration: "You are the Star Pearl!"

"Ha ha ha ha......"

Xinglan Beiyi suddenly burst into laughter.